LAZINESS
Someone may
ask, “But why should I rise early?” To
remain too long in bed is a waste of time.
Wasting time is unbecoming of a saint who is bought by the precious
blood of Jesus. His time and all he has
is to be used for the Lord. If we sleep
more than is necessary for the refreshment of the body, it is wasting time the Lord
has entrusted us to be used for His glory, for our own benefit, and for the
benefit of the saints and unbelievers around us… Anyone who spends one, two,
three hours in prayer and meditation before breakfast will soon discover the
beneficial effect early rising has on the outward and inward man.
Twentieth-century
man needs to be reminded at times that work is not the result of the Fall. Man was made to
work, because the God who made him was a ‘working God.’ Man was made to be creative, with his mind
and his hands. Work is part of the
dignity of his existence.
Sinclair Ferguson
A Heart for God, 1987, p. 31, by
permission Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA.
There is not
a thing on the face of the earth that I abhor so much as idleness or idle
people.
George Whitefield
Christian History, Issue 3.
A true faith
in Jesus Christ will not suffer us to be idle. No, it is an active, lively,
restless principle; it fills the heart, so that it cannot be easy till it is
doing something for Jesus Christ.
George Whitefield
A life once
spent is irrevocable. It will remain to be contemplated through eternity.…The same may be said of each day. When it is once
past, it is gone forever. All the marks which we put upon it, it will exhibit
forever.…Each day will not only be a witness of our conduct, but will affect
our everlasting destiny.…How shall we then wish to see each day marked with
usefulness…! It is too late to mend the days that are past. The future is in
our power. Let us, then, each morning, resolve to send the day into eternity in
such a garb as we shall wish it to wear forever. And at night let us reflect
that one more day is irrevocably gone, indelibly marked.
Adoniram Judson
The Life of Adoniram Judson, Anson, Randolph
& Company, 1883, pp. 13-15.
Complacency
is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.
A.W. Tozer
Alan Redpath
used to talk to young people about the vital importance of what he called
“blanket victory.” He was referring, not to some strategy for overall success,
but to the necessity of getting out of bed at a reasonable time in the morning
to pursue the business of the day. If a young person could not get victory over
his blankets, it was unlikely that he would be self-controlled in many other
areas.
Alistair Begg
Made For His Pleasure, Moody Press, 1996, p. 129.
The moment
slothfulness begins, that moment dangers stand thick about us.
Unknown Puritan
Lord grant
that the fire of my heart may melt the lead in my feet.
Author Unknown
The ruin of
most men dates from idle moments.
Author Unknown
By doing
nothing men learn to do evil things. It is easy slipping out of an idle life
into an evil and wicked life. Yes, an idle life is of itself evil, for man was
made to be active, not to be idle. Idleness is a mother-sin, a breeding-sin; it
is the devil's cushion – on which he sits; and the devil's anvil – on which he
frames very great and very many sins.
Thomas Brooks
The Privy Key of Heaven, 1665.
An idle life
and a holy heart is a contradiction.
Thomas
Brooks
God has
hidden every precious thing in such a way that it is a reward to the diligent,
a prize to the earnest, but a disappointment to the slothful soul. All nature is arrayed against the lounger and
the idler. The nut is hidden in its
thorny case; the pearl is buried beneath the ocean waves; the gold is
imprisoned in the rocky bosom of the mountains; the gem is found only after you
crush the rock which encloses it; the very soil gives its harvest as a reward
to the laboring farmer. So truth and God must be earnestly sought.
A.B. Simpson
It
is because of our fallen state that some are lazy and refuse to work, while
others are slothful and careless in their work. Sin causes some to view work
selfishly – solely from a financial perspective. In other words, they have
little regard for the service they may be able to render to God or the glory
due to Him. They view work only as a way to get money and thus stuff for
themselves.
Ken Jones
Sloth and Diligence, Tabletalk, May 2008, p.
17, Used by Permission.
The most
likely man to go to hell is the man who has nothing to do on earth. Idle people tempt the devil to tempt them.
C.H. Spurgeon
Lazy people
are often busy, but they are not busy doing the work that God has given them to
do. They are incredibly self-indulgent.
Martha Peace
Becoming a Titus 2 Woman, Focus Publishing,
1997, p. 116.
God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life, that I may burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for
it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one,
like You, Lord Jesus.
Idleness is
the time of temptation. An idle person
is the devil's tennis-ball, tossed around by him at his pleasure.
Thomas Brooks
The Privy Key of Heaven, 1665.
In idleness
there is a perpetual despair.
Thomas Carlyle
Be
sure that you live not idly, but in some constant business of a lawful calling,
so far as you have bodily strength. Idleness is a constant sin, and labour is a duty. Idleness is but the devil’s home for
temptation, and for unprofitable, distracting musings. Labour
profiteth others and ourselves;
both soul and body need it. Six days must thou labour,
and must not eat “The bread of idleness.” (Prov. 31:13-27.) God hath made it our duty, and will
bless us in His appointed way. I
have known grievous, despairing melancholy cured and turned into a life of
godly cheerfulness, principally by setting upon constancy and diligence in the
business of families and callings.
Richard
Baxter
The Cure of
Melancholy.
Sin brought
in sweat (Genesis 3:19), but now, not to sweat increases sin.
John Flavel
A Puritan Golden Treasury,
compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 154.
Idleness
tempts the devil to tempt.
Thomas Watson
A Puritan Golden Treasury,
compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 154.
An idle life
and a holy heart is a contradiction.
Thomas Brooks
It is not
that doing nothing is of itself so wicked; it is the opportunity it affords to
evil and empty thoughts; it is the wide door it opens for Satan to throw in the
seeds of bad things; it is this which is mainly to be feared.
J.C. Ryle
Thoughts for Young Men.
Idleness is
the devil’s best friend. It is the
surest way to give him an opportunity of doing us some harm. An idle mind is like an open door, and if
Satan does not come through it himself, it is certain he will throw something
in to arouse bad thoughts in us.
J.C. Ryle
The Duties of Parents.
No created
being was ever meant to be idle. Service
and work is the appointed portion of every creature of God. The angels in heaven work—they are the Lord's
ministering servants, always doing His will.
Adam, in Paradise, had work—he was appointed to work and take care of
the garden of Eden.
And man, weak, sinful man, must have something to do, or else his soul
will soon get into an unhealthy state.
We must keep our hands busy, and our minds occupied with something, or
else our imaginations will soon ferment and breed mischief.
J.C. Ryle
The Duties of Parents.
Truly, I
believe that idleness has led to more sin than almost any other habit that
could be named. I suspect it is the
mother of many sins of the flesh—the mother of adultery, sexual immorality,
drunkenness, and many other deeds of darkness that I do not have time to
name. Let your own conscience say
whether I speak the truth or not. You
were once idle, and immediately the devil knocked at the door and came in.
J.C. Ryle
The Duties of Parents.
Many, I fear,
would like glory, who have no wish for grace. They would [want to] have the
wages, but not the work; the harvest, but not the labor; the reaping, but not
the sowing; the reward, but not the battle. But it may not be.
J.C. Ryle
Holiness,
p. 173.
One of the
most serious threats to the human spirit is boredom. Boredom is the breeding
ground for wickedness. Bored people are easy targets of the flesh and the
Devil. It is like putting a bull’s-eye on your chest with a sign: “Tempt me.
I’m easy!” Why? Because boredom is contrary to the natural, God-given impulse
for fascination, excitement, pleasure, and exhilaration.
Sam Storms
Copied
from: Pleasures Evermore: The Life-Changing Power of Knowing God by Sam Storms,
© 2000, p. 50. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.org. All rights
reserved.
This
[boredom] is why people are so prone to an addictive lifestyle. Many people who
fall into sinful addictions are people who were once terminally bored. The
reason why addictions are so powerful is that they tap into that place in our
hearts that was made for transcendent communion and spiritual romance. These
addictive habits either dull and deaden our yearnings
for a satisfaction we fear we’ll never find or they provide an alternative
counterfeit fulfillment that we think will bring long-term happiness,
counterfeits like cocaine, overeating, illicit affairs, busyness, efficiency,
image, or obsession with physical beauty. They all find their power in the
inescapable yearning of the human heart to be fascinated and pleased and
enthralled. Our hearts will invariably lead us either to the fleeting pleasures
of addiction or to God.
Sam Storms
Copied
from: Pleasures Evermore: The Life-Changing Power of Knowing God by Sam Storms,
© 2000, p. 51. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.org. All rights
reserved.
The Christian
leader never equates mediocrity with the things of God, but is always committed
to the pursuit of excellence.
Ted W. Engstrom
The Making of a Christian Leader, Zondervan,
1976, p. 199. www.zondervan.com.
Idleness
gives great advantage to the tempter.
Standing waters gather filth.
Matthew Henry
Commentary, 2 Samuel 11:2.
The devil
visits idle men with his temptations.
God visits industrious men with His favors.
Matthew Henry
Commentary, 1 Sam. 6:13.